KOHALA — Three of the four fires on Sunday are being investigated as arson and are considered part of the string of suspicious brush fires that have burned numerous acres on the leeward side of the island.
The fires were reported between 9:45 a.m. and 4:36 p.m. between mile markers 8 and 26 on Highway 190 between Kailua-Kona and Waimea.
Highway 190, between Waikoloa Road and mile marker 6, was closed for about five hours as three separate fires broke out. One of the fires, located near mile marker 8, consumed about 10 acres on the makai side of the highway. The others were kept smaller.
Chris Loos, police spokeswoman, declined to elaborate on any details with the investigation.
During a recent court hearing for the case involving a man who allegedly attempted to burn down the Big Island Drug Court, a detective testified in the hearings that Daniel “Duke” Abraham was a suspect in the fires.
Attempts to locate Abraham for comment have been unsuccessful.
Loos wouldn’t speak to the named suspect.
The Sunday fires are the latest in a series of fires around South Kohala that have been considered suspicious. Police have formed a task force to investigate the fire, and increased patrols in the area.
The first suspicious fire came on Jan. 20 on the mauka side of Ane Keohokalole Highway, approximately one-half mile north of Kaiminani Drive. That fire burned more than 200 acres of vegetation and dry brush. More that a dozen have been reported since.
The Daniel R. Sayre Memorial Foundation announced a $5,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the suspect or suspects.
Police ask people who frequent Hawaii Belt Road, especially in the areas of Kaiminani Drive in the vicinity of Ane Keohokalole Highway, the Daniel K. Inouye Highway in the vicinity of the 49-mile marker, and Route 190 between the 6-mile marker and the 14-mile marker, to be aware of the recent fires and to report any suspicious activity in the area immediately to police at 935-3311.
Anyone with any information about the cause of the fires should contact Detective Levon Stevens, at 326-4646, ext. 275, or Levon.Stevens@hawaiicounty.gov.
